Shubhankar Sharma Tied Fourth After Two Rounds in Bahrain; Yuvraj Sandhu Misses Cut

Bahrain, Jan 31:Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma stayed in contention at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship after carding a two-under 70 in the second round to comfortably make the weekend on Saturday.

Sharma, who missed the cut at last week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic, moved to eight-under par after 36 holes and is placed tied fourth in a tightly packed leaderboard featuring 11 players at the same mark.

The 28-year-old began the tournament in impressive fashion with seven birdies against a lone bogey in the opening round. In the second round, he added five birdies, including two stretches of back-to-back gains, but dropped three bogeys to settle for a steady round.

However, Sharma’s compatriot Yuvraj Sandhu narrowly missed the cut. Sandhu carded rounds of 70 and 72, mounting a late charge with three birdies in the final four holes, but finished at two-under par, one shot short of the cut line, which fell at three-under.

At the top of the leaderboard, Calum Hill surged into a commanding four-shot lead after equalling the course record with a stunning 11-under 61 in the second round.

Meanwhile, reigning Hero Dubai Desert Classic champion Patrick Reed continued his solid form, firing a five-under 67 to add to his opening 71. Reed, who has exited LIV Golf and plans to compete on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, climbed to six-under par, placing him tied 22nd.